Joseph M'Benga

	Warning!
	This page contains information regarding Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and thus may contain spoilers.

Doctor Joseph M'Benga was a male Human Starfleet officer and physician who lived during the mid-23rd century.

Quick Answers

What made Doctor Joseph M'Benga particularly skilled in treating Vulcans?

Joseph M'Benga, a specialist in alien races, gained his expertise in treating Vulcans during his medical internship on Vulcan. He studied Vulcan mind control techniques and medicine, which he applied in his practice. Notably, he treated Commander Spock for a gunshot wound, utilizing his understanding of Vulcan healing states. M'Benga also used Vulcan mind control techniques to calm ambassadors.

Provided by: Fandom

Where was Joseph M'Benga born and who were his family members?

Born in Nakuru, Kenya on Earth on December 29, 2223, Joseph M'Benga is the son of Wangera and Gichinga M'Benga. His siblings include a brother, Nicolas, and two sisters, Nyawira and Sikudhani. His medical expertise, particularly in treating Vulcans, was honed during an internship on Vulcan.

Provided by: Fandom

What is the significance of Joseph M'Benga's medical internship on Vulcan?

The medical internship of Joseph M'Benga on Vulcan equipped him with specialized skills in treating Vulcans. His knowledge extended to Vulcan mind control techniques, used for calming ambassadors. However, he never encountered a katric transfer during his studies. His Vulcan medical proficiency was notably demonstrated when he treated Commander Spock's gunshot wound.

Provided by: Fandom

What was Joseph M'Benga's role in Starfleet during the mid-23rd century?

Commander Joseph M'Benga was a physician in the Federation Starfleet during the mid-23rd century. His duties were carried out aboard the USS Enterprise. Before joining the Enterprise, he served on the USS Cuyahoga and a Sombra-class starship. M'Benga also had a connection with the Vulcan Science Academy on New Vulcan, where he studied Vulcan medicine.

Provided by: Fandom

Who are some of the notable patients treated by Doctor Joseph M'Benga?

In 2268, Doctor Joseph M'Benga treated Commander Spock for a gunshot wound he received on Neural, using a unique method to revive him from his Vulcan healing state. Later, he oversaw Dr. Sanchez during the autopsy of Ensign Wyatt, who had died under mysterious circumstances involving Losira.

Provided by: Fandom

Early life

Joseph M'Benga was born on December 29, 2223 in Nakuru, Kenya on Earth to Wangera and Gichinga M'Benga. He had a brother, Nicolas and two sisters, Nyawira and Sikudhani. (SNW: "Under the Cloak of War")

M'Benga conducted his medical internship on Vulcan, an experience that made him particularly skilled in treating members of that species. (TOS: "A Private Little War") During all of his time studying Vulcan medicine, M'Benga never had an opportunity to deal with a katric transfer. (SNW: "Spock Amok")

M'Benga had a relationship with a woman named Debra. In 2248, she bore a daughter, Rukiya. (SNW: "Ghosts of Illyria", "Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach", "The Elysian Kingdom")

He had three ex-wives, as well as a fourth marriage that was invalidated by an annulment. (SNW: "Shuttle to Kenfori")

Starfleet career

Early career

At some point prior to 2259, M'Benga served aboard the USS Cuyahoga and a Sombra-class starship. (SNW: "Memento Mori", "All Those Who Wander")

At some point he served as a Starfleet special forces operative, known as "the Ghost", with the most confirmed hand-to-hand kills. He also developed the combat drug known as Protocol 12. (SNW: "Under the Cloak of War")

During the Klingon War of 2256–57, Commander M'Benga served on the front lines. He was stationed on J'Gal and was present at the Battle of ChaKana and the Battle of J'Gal. By this time, he considered himself "just a doctor" and initially refused to take part in further special operations. (SNW: "The Broken Circle", "Under the Cloak of War")

After witnessing the death of special forces commanding officer Va'Al Trask and his people, M'Benga took Trask's captured d'k tahg off his body and used it to attempt Trask's mission personally. He succeeded in killing General Gra'val, Commander Kiff and Captain Ruh'lis, but failed to assassinate General Dak'Rah who commanded the Klingon forces and gave the order to indiscriminately slaughter civilians on J'Gal. (SNW: "Under the Cloak of War")

Service aboard the USS Enterprise

2259

By 2259, he was assigned to the USS Enterprise as chief medical officer under Captain Christopher Pike, with Nurse Christine Chapel as part of his staff. (SNW: "Strange New Worlds")

After his daughter Rukiya developed cygnokemia, he secretly kept her in the transporter buffer of the USS Enterprise so she could stay in stasis. Sometimes, he brought her out to read her a book. One favorite was The Kingdom of Elysian by Benny Russell. (SNW: "Ghosts of Illyria", "Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach", "The Elysian Kingdom")

As the Enterprise was surveying the Jonisian Nebula, M'Benga found himself and the rest of the crew in a surrealistic recreation of The Kingdom of Elysian, which was lifted from Rukiya's mind by a sentient non-corporeal lifeform. M'Benga himself took on the form of King Ridley, with him and Hemmer being the only people aware of their real identities. Eventually, Rukiya and M'Benga decided she would be better off staying with the alien entity, named Debra by Rukiya, as pure consciousness rather than risk time running out while M'Benga searched for a cure. (SNW: "The Elysian Kingdom")

Later that year, now Ambassador Dak'Rah boarded the Enterprise, having taken credit for the deaths of his three generals in the Battle of J'Gal, becoming known as the Butcher of J'Gal for it. M'Benga was haunted by memories of his actions taken during the battle and the shame that it brought him. M'Benga eventually confronted Dak'Rah who claimed remorse for his actions before supposedly attacking M'Benga who killed Dak'Rah, apparently in self-defense, with the same d'k tahg that he had killed Dak'Rah's generals with years before. Analysis by the Enterprise computer found the blood of all of the Klingon warlords killed by the Butcher of J'Gal still on it along with both Dak'Rah's and M'Benga's fingerprints. With Nurse Christine Chapel backing up M'Benga's story of self-defense, Pike was sure that he would be cleared of any possible wrongdoing, but M'Benga continued to be haunted by his actions. (SNW: "Under the Cloak of War")

2260

In 2260, M'Benga was amongst the Starfleet personnel captured by the Gorn, but he and the others escaped thanks to La'An Noonien-Singh. (SNW: "Hegemony", "Hegemony, Part II")

2261

A few months later, when Captain Marie Batel's Gorn infection returned, M'Begna accompanied Pike on an unauthorized mission to Kenfori in a restricted zone from the Klingon War. Pike was dismayed to learn that M'Benga intended to save Batel by using the chimera blossom to turn her into a Human-Gorn hybrid. In the midst of fighting zombies, Pike and M'Benga were cornered by Klingons led by Bytha, the daughter of Dak'Rah, who sought to kill M'Benga in ritual combat to reclaim the House of Ra'Ul's honor which had been stained by Dak'Rah. With Pike's life in danger, M'Benga finally admitted that he really did kill Dak'Rah in cold blood, but he was unrepentant. M'Benga defeated Bytha, but chose not to kill her as it was unnecessary. Facing a fate worse than death with her defeat, Bytha chose to sacrifice herself so that Pike and M'Benga could escape while she died with honor. Afterwards, Pike told his friend that as the mission was off-the-books, he would not report M'Benga's confession. However, Pike stated that if he had to file a report, he would simply say that M'Benga had told Bytha what she had wanted to hear. (SNW: "Shuttle to Kenfori")

2265

By 2265, he was succeeded as chief medical officer by Doctor Mark Piper. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before")

2268

By the 2260s, M'Benga had stepped down as chief medical officer and served as a general physician. After Doctor Leonard McCoy became CMO he continued to serve under Captain James T. Kirk, where, in the event of McCoy's absence, he served as the ranking medical officer.

In 2268, M'Benga treated Commander Spock for a serious gunshot wound he was inflicted with on Neural. He had to slap Spock violently to bring him out of his Vulcan healing state. (TOS: "A Private Little War")

Later that year, Dr. M'Benga supervised his colleague Dr. Sanchez with an autopsy of Ensign Wyatt, who had died after Losira merely touched him. M'Benga reported that Wyatt's entire body had suffered cellular disruption: the touch had "blasted" every cell in his body from the inside out. In reply to Spock's inquiry regarding the incident, M'Benga explained that Sanchez had found that no known disease-causing organism had been responsible for the death.

He later reported that engineering Technician John B. Watkins had also died from a similar cellular disruption. (TOS: "That Which Survives")

Relationships

Family

M'Benga has been married four times. Three of the marriages ended in divorce and one in annulment. (SNW: "Shuttle to Kenfori")

Rukiya

Rukiya is the daughter of M'Benga and Debra. She was kept in the transporter buffer of the Enterprise to slow down the progression of terminal cygnokemia.

Friendships

Christopher Pike

Prior to 2259, M'Benga was previously acquainted with Christopher Pike, with Pike having guided M'Benga through his home of Mojave, California and M'Benga having guided Pike through Kenya. (SNW: "Strange New Worlds")

Christine Chapel

M'Benga first met Chapel when she was assigned as a head nurse to the Mobile Combat Surgical Unit on J'Gal he served in as a doctor during the Klingon War. (SNW: "Under the Cloak of War")

Alternate timeline

In an alternate timeline where Captain Pike avoided his exposure to delta radiation and remained in command of the Enterprise during the Neutral Zone Incursion of 2266, Dr. M'Benga was still serving as CMO. When he and the other bridge officers discussed an attack that the Romulans had launched on Starfleet outposts, M'Benga was one of the staunchest proponents for maintaining peace, arguing against the more aggressive stance that Erica Ortegas took on the matter. (SNW: "A Quality of Mercy")

Key dates

• 2223: Born in Nakuru, Kenya, Earth on December 29th.
• 2256–2257: Participates in the Klingon War
• c. 2259: assigned to the USS Enterprise as chief medical officer

Appendices

Appearances

Background information

Doctor Joseph M'Benga was played by Booker Bradshaw in The Original Series and Babs Olusanmokun in Strange New Worlds.

This character was actually created by Darlene Hartman, in her purchased (but never produced) TOS script entitled "Shol". The notes for that script give Dr. M'Benga's first name as "Joseph" (confirmed in canon only in SNW: "The Elysian Kingdom"), and stated that he was originally a native of Uganda. His brother, Commander Simon M'Benga, was the first officer of USS Hope, a Federation hospital ship, in the planned-but-never-developed Star Trek spinoff Hopeship. [1]

An early draft of the script for "Obsession" (dated 6 September 1967) included a character by the name of "Nurse M'Benga". However, in research notes submitted for that episode (on 29 September 1966), de Forest Research noted the redundancy, stating that "M'Benga is the name of a doctor in 'A Private Little War'."

In a later inter-department communication between Gene Roddenberry and John Meredyth Lucas (dated 2 October 1967), Roddenberry noted that regarding "Nurse M'Benga. There is no such Nurse existing on our spaceship. If we need a Nurse, we use our semi-regular Nurse Chapel."

The first draft script for "That Which Survives" misspelled this character's name "Mboya".

M'Benga's rank of commander was confirmed when it appeared on his personal locker that appeared in "Under the Cloak of War".

Apocrypha

Jean Lorrah's novel The IDIC Epidemic gave his first name as "Geoffrey". Meanwhile, David Mack's Harbinger established his first name as "Jabilo", a word for "healer" in the Luo language of Kenya, [2] and set his assignment before the Enterprise as Starbase 47, also known as "Vanguard". The novella The Tears of Eridanus, set in an alternate universe, gives his full name as Jabilo Geoffrey M'Benga.

The Vulcan Academy Murders presented M'Benga's time at the Vulcan Academy hospital and McCoy's subsequent recruitment of M'Benga for Enterprise. Tying into this, The Klingon Gambit, by Robert E. Vardeman, established that his internship on Vulcan lasted four years.

Andrea M'Benga (β), a great-granddaughter of this character, is portrayed in several novels written by William Shatner.

M'Benga's mirror universe counterpart appeared in the novel The Sorrows of Empire. Following Leonard McCoy's death from xenopolycythemia in 2269, he succeeded him as the chief medical officer of the ISS Enterprise. He continued to serve in that position until at least 2287. The novel likewise stated that his first name was "Jabilo".

M'Benga's alternate reality counterpart appeared in the mobile game Star Trek: Fleet Command. He spent many years on Vulcan before its destruction at the hands of Nero in 2258. By 2263, M'Benga had close ties to the Vulcan Science Academy on New Vulcan and worked with Doctor Leonard McCoy aboard the USS Enterprise as part of the medical staff. The game likewise also stated that his first name was "Jabilo".

External links

• Joseph M'Benga at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works